Thoughts on the State of the (Credit) Union (and Bank Marketing Survey), 2013
by Jimmy Marks
Last night was the State of the Union address. All the big-wigs in Washington, D.C. gathered together to applaud, not-applaud, talk, listen, and pretend to listen to a summary of how America’s doing and what the administration is likely to do in the coming year.
But nothing President Obama said was as stirring or shocking as what I read yesterday in the State of Bank & Credit Union Marketing report from the Financial Brand and Aite’s Ron Shevlin.
[Author’s Note — As this is a “State of the Union” themed post, please feel free to stand up and clap or sit and stare disapprovingly as you choose. Make a real show of it and disturb everyone in your office. That’s what I’m doing.]
In the past, this report has been an eye-opener about the world of credit union and bank marketing and this year did not disappoint. Well, it sort of disappointed…because there are a lot of roadblocks for banks and credit unions (and yes, us CUSOs and vendors) to overcome this year.
ROADBLOCK 1: The “More-with-less” Conundrum
We’ve heard this lament a lot in the past few years. When a marketing department scores big gains with less money, they get even less to use the next year. When they don’t make an impact with a smaller budget, their budget gets cut, almost as a punishment. Darned if you do, darned if you don’t. 33% of banks and CUs surveyed say their puny budget’s a “major challenge”, and some 73% say it’s an issue. What’s more, most respondents say their budget’s going to stay the same in 2013 (41% say no change, up or down). EIC of the Financial Brand Jeffry Pilcher has some pointed words for those who want more money and more man-power — prove your department’s worth the cost.
continue reading »Reality Check: You’ll get more money in your budget just as soon as you can prove you deserve it. If you can’t demonstrate an ROI, why should your CEO allocate more resources to marketing?